MARTINSBURG, WV (TIP): President Donald Trump said Thursday, November 27, that US Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, one of the National Guard members shot in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, has died.
“Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we’re talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023 outstanding in every way. She’s just passed away,” Trump said in a Thanksgiving call to service members.
The death of Beckstrom, 20, comes after she and US Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were injured in an “ambush style” shooting just blocks away from the White House on Thanksgiving Eve.
The two members were called to the nation’s capital in August as National Guard troops from multiple states responded to Trump’s surge of federal law enforcement in the area. Wolfe remained in critical condition Thursday.
Sarah Beckstrom
US Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was one of two members of the West Virginia National Guard shot in Washington, DC, on November 26, 2025. Hoping others could spend Thanksgiving home, Beckstrom had volunteered to work in DC over the holiday.
“She volunteered, as did many of those guardsmen and women, so other people could be home with their families, yet now their families are in hospital rooms with them while they are fighting for their lives,” Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News on Thursday.
Beckstrom, of Summersville, West Virginia, first began her service on June 26, 2023, and was assigned to the 863rd Military Police Company, 111th Engineer Brigade, West Virginia Army National Guard. Even before joining the military, she had “always demonstrated the strength, character, and commitment that make our school and community proud,” according to Webster County High School in Upperglade, where she graduated in 2023.
Her father was next to her on Thanksgiving, facing the severity of his daughter’s condition before she died, according to The New York Times.
“I’m holding her hand right now,” Gary Beckstrom told the Times by phone.
(With inputs from agencies)
Leave a Reply